Pro-Kurdish Party To Appeal Ban At E.U. Court

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the ruling of a Constitutional Court in Istanbul ordering it be disbanded. Former DTP leader Ahmed Turk told reporters Sunday that his party would appeal the court ruling at the Strasbourg, France-based ECHR after the ruling was published in the Official Gazette. Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled Friday that the Democratic Society Party should be shut down for its alleged links with the outlawed guerrillas of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)--a verdict that threatens to undermine Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party's efforts for effecting a reconciliation with the Kurds, and end decades of conflict. The PKK--considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the E.U.--has fought for autonomy from the Turkish state since 1984. Thousands of persons have been killed in the violence. The E.U. has expressed concern over the verdict, warning the ban would violate Kurdish rights. The U.S. State Department said Turkey's democracy should advance political freedom to all its citizens, and steps that restrict those rights should be exercised with extreme caution. Meanwhile, clashes have erupted between protesters and the police in Turkey after Kurdish representatives resigned en masse from parliament over the verdict of the Constitutional Court. The violence flared across the country Sunday when some 200 Kurdish protesters hurled stones and firebombs at shops, homes and cars in one of Istanbul's busiest districts, denouncing the court's judgment. Protesters also erected barricades on main roads of the capital and set them on fire. Riot police used water cannon and fired teargas grenades to disperse the crowds. Over 80 persons were detained. by RTT Staff Writer